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David Shorthouse

@dshorthouse.bsky.social
1K followers 88 following 178 posts

In order: father, husband, canoeist, biodiversity informatician. Opinions mine and not those of my employer. orcid.org/0000-0001-7618-5230

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David Shorthouse @dshorthouse.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Vibrating with anticipation.
Car and canoe parked a skip and a jump away from the Diablo portage.
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Doc Hammertime @dochammertime.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
WABAKIMI PHOTO DUMP 🧵 Float plane drop off is always exciting, we landed on Wabakimi Lake to begin our trip!
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Dezene Huber 🍁 🌻 @dezene.me · 22/09/2026
Just published a fun Open Access paper with several great co-authors from across the continent. Swimming caterpillars! 🐛 🏊‍♀️ 🪳🪲🧪 academic.oup.com/jinsectscien...
academic.oup.com
Diversity of swimming behavior in larval Lepidoptera
Abstract. Lepidoptera are a highly diverse lineage of predominantly terrestrial insects, yet their larvae occupy diverse habitats where they may experience
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GBIF @gbif.org · 22/09/2026
⭐ Celebrating 25 years of GBIF! ⭐ To mark GBIF’s 25th anniversary, a new open access article in the Biodiversity Data Journal provides a comprehensive overview of GBIF’s history, network and infrastructure. 📖 Read the article:🔗https://gbif.link/gbif25paper-news @bdj.pensoft.net @pensoft.net
A collage of various biological illustrations with the GBIF 25 year logo in the centre
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David Shorthouse @dshorthouse.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Tidying up one of two papers to be delivered at @tdwg.org in two symposia sessions. I have some zingers like, "Arguments that the data held in walled garden Collections Management Systems are authoritative is rendered 'quaint' at their best, but shallow and breathless at their worst."
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Donna Giberson (Elbows UP!) 🇨🇦🇺🇦 @donnag.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
So sorry to hear today that Cedric Gillott (U.Saskatchewan) passed away Saturday. Many will know him from his textbook 'Entomology', but I knew him as my long-time partner in organizing & assembling the Bull. of the Ent. Soc. of Canada, & a fellow craft beer/cider lover. Rest in peace, my friend.
Photo of Cedric Gillott. Photo shows the head and shoulders of a white-haired man wearing glasses, and a pale blue shirt.Cover of a textbook called Entomology, by Cedric Gillott. It features a large moth and a beetle on a pale brown backing.
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Rod Page @rdmpage.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Should @biodivlibrary.bsky.social charge for access? That's the question I ask in forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/should-bhl...
forum.biodiversitylibrary.org
Should BHL charge for access?
Given that most people’s reaction to the question “should BHL charge for access?” is likely to be an emphatic NO! let me explain my goal here. I have no formal role in BHL, this post is purely me shoo...
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Doc Hammertime @dochammertime.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Heading to Wabakimi Provincial Park tomorrow! Fly in/out into Wabakimi Lake for a pretty leisurely loop. Counter clockwise loop starting Up the flindt river, east across Brennan Lake, north down the Allan Water River back to Wabakimi Lake
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GBIF @gbif.org · 10/09/2026
🌺 You won't want to miss this one! You're invited to join the GBIF Science Symposium! The theme of the event, “From Open Data to Living Knowledge."🧬 This event is free to join in person at Universitetet i Oslo or through virtual livestream. 🔗 www.gbif.no/events/2... @gbifnorway.bsky.social
Photo of the University of Olso
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Rod Page @rdmpage.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I've been revisiting a mapping I created between plant type specimens in @jstor.bsky.social Global Plants website and records in @gbif.org (see my blog post doi.org/10.59350/m59... for details). I've now released a crude website to explore the mappings iphylo.org/jstor-plant-...
doi.org
Where are the plant type specimens? Mapping JSTOR Global Plants to GBIF
Blog by Rod Page on biodiversity informatics, taxonomy, systematics, phylogeny, knowledge graphs, and other topics.
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David Shorthouse @dshorthouse.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Northern Algonquin paddle this Labour Day long weekend.
Brain Lake, Algonquin Provincial ParkTall & Skinny waterfalls in Algonquin Provincial ParkCliffs at Brain Lake
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David Shorthouse @dshorthouse.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Off to paddle a remote part of Algonquin Provincial Park this Labour Day weekend to see 250+ year-old black ash, hemlock, and yellow birch. And, to drink from Brain Creek of course.
Screenshot of North Algonquin paddling map by mapsbyjeff.com showing contours of old growth stands.
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Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 27/08/2026
Today's @xkcd.com
It's a stickman holding a hammer, lifting up his leg, and saying:

"Listen up, leg. I've been sending you rich, oxygenated blood for years, while you send me worthless used-up blood with no oxygen. Time to teach you a lesson about not ripping me off!"

It is captioned: tariffs
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Biodiversity Data Journal @bdj.pensoft.net · 25/08/2026
"Round-tripping of natural history data might help preserve institutional memory... so knowledge endures beyond individual careers." - David Shorthouse, guest editor of the collection. 🗓𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞: 𝟏 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 Read more about this new BDJ collection on curation, #AI & collections data 👇
bdj.pensoft.net
New collection: Open Digital Curation of Collections-based Biodiversity Data
Biodiversity Data Journal (BDJ) launches a new topical collection, titled "Beyond Digitization: Open Digital Curation of Collections-based Biodiversity Data”, aimed at exploring the Open Di...
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Ash Whiffin @ashwhiffin.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
We currently have TWO collections-based vacancies at National Museums Scotland! As part of the upcoming DiSSCo UK program, we’re seeking a Digitiser and Senior digitiser to work with our insect collection: careers.nms.ac.uk/vacancies (Apply by 31st August) #Digitisation #Insects #MuseumJobs
An multi-camera imaging set-up at NMSPreserved bumblebee specimens with data labels below each individual
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David Shorthouse @dshorthouse.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Working on this today but am too easily distracted by maps and canoe routes. Assuming I can focus my energies, come join me and the iDigBio community next week as I take a look at what's happened in 6 years of running Bionomia off the side of my desk.
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David Shorthouse @dshorthouse.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
From the shore of a remote lake in Algonquin this morning as the sun was burning off the fog, I witnessed a raft of loons in a large circle, each member doing a crazy cartwheel in sequence like teenagers at a skate park, followed by whooping and trilling. It was the most beautiful thing and I wept.
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Bon Hanson @bonhanson.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
He came to explore Canada's beautiful landscapes and discovered why Canadians are known for being some of the kindest people in the world. ✌️🇨🇦 www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/ar...
ctvnews.ca
A New Zealander boarded a canoe to cross Canada. Then he discovered the nature of its citizens
A New Zealand man said his solo paddling adventure through Canada’s wilderness taught him about the Great White North’s majestic landscapes and the beauty of human nature.
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David Shorthouse @dshorthouse.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Completed a 4-day canoe trip with my youngest son, James Macklin and his son to the Biscotasi Provincial Park area in northern Ontario, Canada. We took the last operating Budd train in the world from Sudbury & dropped off alone in the middle of nowhere.
Rail Diesel Train being loaded with canoes in Sudbury, OntarioRail Diesel train being loaded with a canoeTwo canoes at a campsite at sunrise in Biscotasi Provincial Park
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Distributed System of Scientific Collections @dissco.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Join the @dissco.bsky.social x #WiNoDa hackathon on machine annotation services (MAS) next October 14-15th and learn how to develop and connect these services directly to DiSSCo. 📖 Info: lnkd.in/dzR3VWAF 📌 Registration (deadline is 31 August 2026): lnkd.in/dih-tGmg @disscoflanders.bsky.social
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Jessica Budke 🌱🥼🔬 @mossplants.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Are you passionate about #naturalhistory #collections? Apply for our open position for the Herbarium Collections Manager @utkherbarium.bsky.social. We will start evaluating applications on Aug 17, so get your application in now. #Botany2026 #herbarium #jobs
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David Shorthouse @dshorthouse.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Last month of operations for ww.simplemappr.net. There are now a few solutions to replace most of the functionality. See the bottom of docs.google.com/document/d/1...
ww.simplemappr.net
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Robert Cubey @rcubey.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Two jobs at @thebotanics.bsky.social (RBGE) - National Project Manager Scotland & National Data Manager Scotland - join us in delivering @dissco.bsky.social in the UK www.rbge.org.uk/about-us/job...
rbge.org.uk
Vacancies | Working Here | What We Do
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Wayne Maddison @waynemaddison.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
A old-timer's concern about science as a chronic social medium, leading to the advice to spend time alone with nature and ideas. waynemaddison.wordpress.com/2026/07/25/s...
waynemaddison.wordpress.com
Science like no one is watching
I grew up largely unwatched. As children, David and I would go out and play unsupervised, free-range. We would go down to the ravine to explore nature. It was fun, but more than that, I think it wa…
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David Shorthouse @dshorthouse.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
PyMapper github.com/CalebHendren... by Caleb Hendren is desktop-capable & "...essentially a remake of SimpleMappr in Python." 😍
github.com
GitHub - CalebHendren/PyMappr
Contribute to CalebHendren/PyMappr development by creating an account on GitHub.
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Doc Hammertime @dochammertime.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
I’m back home in Detroit after a surreal couple weeks in Northern Ontario. The wildfires in and around Armstrong, Wabakimi Provincial Park devastated First Nations communities and outfitters. For the time being Armstrong itself seems to be spared.
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David Shorthouse @dshorthouse.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Getting giggly about my next paddling adventure with my son. The Budd train to the headwaters of the Spanish River! There's something romantic about stopping the train on a remote lake, unloading, then watching it recede while you contemplate your life choices 🛶 www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzti...
youtube.com
Immersive railway POV through Canadian Shield in 4K | TRIPPING Train 185 (2023) | TVO Original
YouTube video by TVO Docs
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GBIF @gbif.org · 20/07/2026
Are you our next GBIF Executive Secretary? One week left to apply for this incredible position! ⭐ We're seeking a visionary leader with demonstrated experience in biodiversity science, international collaboration and organizational management. 🌱 🔗gbif.link/Executive-... Deadline: 24 July
A collection of various biodiversity drawings and photographs arranged in a collage on a cream-coloured background
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Natural Science Collections Alliance @nscalliance.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Join the #TaxonWorks conversation & explore their software & community. Loosely focused on three themes, #research, #collections, and getting started, there will be lots of opportunities for conversation. #iDigBio events.zoom.us/ev/AjGnrAbjA...
events.zoom.us
Talking with TaxonWorks: Connecting Collections and Research
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Doc Hammertime @dochammertime.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
More heartbreaking stories out of Wabakimi www.snnewswatch.com/local-news/o...
snnewswatch.com
Outfitter desperate to find help for canoeists surrounded by fire
Bruce Hyer of Wabakimi Wilderness Lodge is trying to locate a helicopter to extricate four clients.
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David Shorthouse @dshorthouse.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Microphorella shorthousei sp. nov 😍 Brooks & Cumming doi.org/10.11646/zoo...
doi.org
Revision of the Microphorella chiragra species group (Diptera: Dolichopodidae sensu lato : Parathalassiinae) | Zootaxa
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David Shorthouse @dshorthouse.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Temagami, Ontario. Hiked the tallest point in the Province called the Ishpatina Ridge. And, one day was gruelling: 9 portages (double carrying) and a 16km paddle.
Fire tower on the Ishpatina Ridge in Temagami, Ontario, Canada.Canoeist selfie.Lake trout for lunch.Idyllic campsite in Temagami, Ontario, Canada
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The🇨🇦Beard @thecanadianbeard.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
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David Shorthouse @dshorthouse.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Turned over the food barrel and am off to the Ishpatina Ridge in Temagami tomorrow for a 7-day solo adventure. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishpati...
en.wikipedia.org
Ishpatina Ridge - Wikipedia
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David Shorthouse @dshorthouse.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Completed the “Nellie Lake Loop” in Killarney Provincial Park, Ontario Canada with my youngest son. Excellent route but with lengthy portages. “We hiked through the forest with a canoe on our heads.”
Grace Lake in Killarney Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada facing West.Boy portaging a blue canoe barrel containing food for three daysWindex blue waters of Carmichael Lake in Killarney Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
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Joaquim Santos @joaquimsantos1978.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
After 5 years as an idea in my head, I finally built it. Introducing georeference.it: an open-source platform for collaborative georeferencing of GBIF specimens. Help improve biodiversity data through community georeferencing, validation and error detection. Feedback welcome! 🌍 georeference.it
georeference.it
Georeference Specimens — georeference.it
Add coordinates to ungeoreferenced natural history specimens from GBIF. Collaborative georeferencing tool for biodiversity collections worldwide.
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David Shorthouse @dshorthouse.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
Looking forward to my annual father and son canoe trip on this upcoming post-Canada Day weekend. Any guesses?
A famously Canadian painting. 1933.
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GBIF @gbif.org · 23/06/2026
⭐ A huge milestone for the biodiversity data standards community! 🥳 After years of collaborative work, the Darwin Core Conceptual Model and Data Package Guide (DwC-DP) have officially been ratified! ✅ 👉 Curious about what this means in practice?🔗www.tdwg.org/news/20... @tdwg.org
A statue of Charles Darwin with text reading DwC Conceptual model and data package guided have been ratified
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Stelios Chatzimanolis @schatzimanolis.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
A bonanza for fans of the natural world: the digital library sharing 64m pages of scientific knowledge with everyone
The Biodiversity Heritage Library is an invaluable online archive of historic texts on species living and lost supplied by the world’s leading museums and universities. Now its future is in doubt
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Siobhan Leachman @siobhanleachman.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Just received a lovely email from the journal #AnnalsOfBotany to say our article "Wikidata for botanists: benefits of collaborating and sharing Linked Open Data" is amongst the most-read of their recent articles. I'm quite proud of this! doi.org/10.1093/aob/... #Wikidata #Botany
doi.org
Wikidata for botanists: benefits of collaborating and sharing Linked Open Data
AbstractBackground. Wikidata is a multilingual linked open knowledge base to which anyone can contribute that contains multitudes of botany-related informa
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David Shorthouse @dshorthouse.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
He’s still there! El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and now Panama. Using his own funds on a shoestring, hostel to hostel, feeding himself, hitchhiking and bus rides. And, in a little over a week, he’s taking a 12-person, 50’ sailboat to Colombia en route to Ecuador and Peru.
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David Shorthouse @dshorthouse.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Sketched out a 6-night canoe loop July 7–13 to the Ishpatina Ridge en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishpati... at the tail end of a 3-night trip to Nellie Lake in Killarney Prov. Park with my youngest son. This might be a solo trip unless there's a taker, which would make it my longest solo by a day.
en.wikipedia.org
Ishpatina Ridge - Wikipedia
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Crossref @crossref.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Crossref has hit 2 billion citation links - connections between research that help scholars discover, trace, and build on existing work. Dataset and full story: doi.org/10.64000/8cekz-69m52 #citations #scholarlypublishing
Two billion citations in Crossref
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ORCID @orcid.org · 27/05/2026
Nominations now open for ORCID Board seats: 👉 info.orcid.org/nominations-now-open… + ORCID's Researcher Advisory Council: 👉 info.orcid.org/calling-all-research… 📅 Nominations due 26 June!
Nominations now open until 26 June
Member-Director Board seats 
ORCID Researcher Advisory Council
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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
It is with deep sorrow and profound love that we announce the passing of Sonny Rollins. The Saxophone Colossus died this afternoon at his home in Woodstock, NY at the age of 95. 1/2
Photo of Sonny Rollins playing saxophone in 2009 by John Abbott
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David Shorthouse @dshorthouse.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
What do I wear on my feet for a canoe trip? Stephan Kesting does a great job describing the maddening decision-making process, youtu.be/9g8M05sd11g?...
youtu.be
What I Learned About Canoeing Footwear on Thousand Mile Trips in the Far North
YouTube video by Essential Wilderness - Stephan Kesting
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David Shorthouse @dshorthouse.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
My sleep system in the boreal forest is a tarp and bug net; perfect for canoe travel on boreal lakes because the understory always has openings where cushiony club mosses and pine needles are abundant. Unlike a tent, I can find semi-protected spots to watch storms, sunsets, and the northern lights.
Tarp and a bug net sleep system for boreal lakes canoe trips. The tarp is affixed to a taut ridge line & it gets stuffed into a drawstring sac with a grommet on the bottom through which the ridge line traverses. Breaking camp takes 3-5 minutes.View from inside a bug net sleep system under a rain tarp on a canoe trip.
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David Shorthouse @dshorthouse.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Kirkpatrick / Blue Lake ice-out, 6-night spring canoe loop in the Algoma Region near Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada via logging roads with @cabbageleek.bsky.social was a tough one but well worth the physical effort on long portages and the bug-less but restless, nightly chill.
Morning view from East side of Big Horseshoe Lake10lb lake trout prized catchMoored canoe at the North shore of Finn Lake
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GBIF @gbif.org · 15/05/2026
🚀 The 2026 Ebbe Nielsen Challenge is OPEN! Have an idea, tool or prototype that uses GBIF biodiversity data to advance open science, research or policy? Submit an entry and compete for a share of €20,000 in prizes 💸 ⭐ Deadline: Friday 26 June 2026 (23:59 CEST) 👉 gbif.link/ENC-2026
A cream coloured background with a biological drawing of a shell and text reading ebbe nielsen challenge 2026 with the GBIF logo at the bottom
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tdwg.org @tdwg.org · 07/05/2026
The #TDWG2026 Call for Abstracts deadline for submissions is fast approaching on 🗓️ 20 May 2026, 23:59 UTC-12. There’s still time 🕐 but act fast ⚡️, only two weeks left! Conference Theme: 🔬 & 🤖 Research and Robot-ready Biodiversity Data Standards. More info: 🔗 tdwg.link/call-for-abstracts
Reminder: Call for abstracts for TDWG 2026 Conference deadline is  20 May 2026, 23:59 UTC-12. Only two weeks left!

Image: Kayak Nigardsbrevatnet Falkeblikk AS visitnorway.com
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